John Taylor,
"Pretensions of the Saints",
Journal of Discourses,
vol. 24,
pp. 1-8,
February 11, 1883.

Why the Saints Meet Together—Their Pretensions—What Their Profession Implies—No Right to Sit in Judgment on the World—All Children of a Common Father—Many Good Men Inspired By the Spirit of God Who Did not Possess the Gift of the Holy Ghost—How Joseph Smith Obtained Knowledge—The Gospel—What the Savior Required—Operations of the Holy Ghost—What is Required of the Saints—Their Feelings—Duty of Missionaries—National Feelings Buried in Embracing the Gospel—Relationship to God—Destiny of the Faithful—What Have Religionists of the World to Offer?—Character of the Would-Be Reformers—Rights to Be Contended For—Corrupt Practices Condemned

(Continued From Volume XXIII, Page 376, Journal of Discourses.)
to assist us? The Lord, and if He does not I am sure we cannot do it,
and if He does not show us how we cannot do it. Well, some people come
and try to convert us. Very well, let them convert away. If they have
anything to convert you to, I say for God's sake take it, if they have
something that is more intelligent than that which has been
communicated to you. We are desirous to obtain all truth from whatever
quarter it comes, and every good thing that can be made manifest, and
if anybody has got any truths that we have not we are prepared to
embrace them, but we have no truths to barter away for the fictions,
ideas, theories and opinions of men. It is written: “They shall be all
taught of God.” Have those men received anything from God to
communicate? If they have let them state it, and if they have not let
them hold their peace. “They shall be all taught of God.” He will be
their instructor, their judge, their guide, their director and their
lawgiver, and he will give them the light and intelligence which they
require. We are operating with and in possession of principles that
are great, grand, glorious and intelligent, that have existed in ages
past, that exist today, and that will exist forever and ever, worlds
without end, Amen. We are building up the Zion of God, and He is to be
our instructor. We are building up the kingdom of God, and He is to be
our guide. We are building up the Church of God, and unless we are
under the guidance and influence of the Spirit of God, we neither
belong to the Church of God, the Zion of God, nor the king-dom of
God. And hence it is necessary that we should comprehend the position
we occupy.

We have been in the world and we have preached the Gospel to the world
and are doing it, and that is part of our duty, and we are fulfilling
it as fast as the Lord opens the way. We have done a great deal. I
think that at an assembly some little time ago there were twenty-five
nationalities represented. Is there any difference of sentiment among
these diverse people? No. In speaking with a gentleman recently on
some of the difficulties between the English and the Irish people, I
told him that it was lamentable that such a feeling should exist.
Well, said he, they are two different races and they cannot affiliate,
one being Celtic and the other Anglo-Saxon, and their sympathies and
feelings are dissimilar. Their ideas and feelings differ; their
education and their instincts differ. That is very true so far as it
goes. But what of us? We are gathered here under the inspiration of
the Holy Ghost, and that as I before said, produces a unity of feeling
and spirit, a oneness and sympathy that does not exist in the world
and Jesus has said, By this shall all men know that ye are my
disciples if ye love one another. We have people among us from all
parts of the United States, from Ireland, Scotland and Wales, from
England, France and Germany, from Denmark, Norway and Sweden; also
from Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, from the islands of the sea, and
in fact, from nearly every civilized country. And how is it brethren?
Are we Scandinavians; are we English; are we Scotch, Swiss or Dutch,
as the case may be? No; the Spirit of God, which we obtained through
obedience to the requirements of the Gospel; having been born again,
of the water and of the Spirit, has made us of one heart, one faith,
one baptism; we have no national or class divisions of that kind among
us.

What, then, are we aiming at? We are aiming to introduce among us the
principle of virtue, integrity, honesty, and a knowledge of God and of
His laws. This is what we are seeking to do. And do we injure any man
or set of men in so doing? I think not. I will say to the credit of
our merchants, that they are spoken of as honorable men, as men who
pay their debts better than the majority of mankind. Such is the
report I hear from gentlemen with whom I communicate. This is pleasing
to hear. It is pleasing to see the principle of honor introduced in
our trading; and we ought to be honorable one with another and with
all men, treating all with the respect they deserve and merit at our
hands. But because we do this are we to submit to every kind of
indignity; are we to submit to be outraged, to be traduced; are we to
permit, in a social capacity, evils and crimes to be introduced in our
midst, and never lift up our voice against them? Are we to permit our
sons and daughters to affiliate and associate with corrupt men and
women? No. But if our youth choose to pursue a course of that kind,
all well? No, I will not say it is well; it would be better if they
did better. We are here to introduce correct principles; and we
profess to be moving on a more elevated plane; we profess to be under
the influence of the inspiration of the Almighty; and God cannot look
upon sin with the least degree of allowance.

Let me read that prayer a little more: “Our Father who art in
heaven.” What, is He indeed my
Father? Yes. Is He our Father?
Yes. “Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” We are
children of God; that is the relationship that we sustain to Him.
Being born of the Spirit, we become the sons of God. The what? The
sons of God. And what else? The heirs of God, and joint heirs with
Jesus Christ our Lord. Is this the position we occupy? So say the
Scriptures. And what is the difference between those who have been
born of the water and the Spirit, and those who know not the Gospel,
and who possess none of the gifts thereof? Let us stop and inquire.
You have sons, have you not? Yes. What will the boys be when they are
grown up. They will be men, will they not? They are now the sons of
men. If a man be inducted into the family of God, and becomes a son of
God, what will he become when he gets his growth? You can figure that
out yourselves. It is said, “Now are we the sons of God, and it doth
not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall
appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” What
shall we be? Heirs of God. What else? Joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
What, joint heirs with Jesus Christ our Lord? Yes. What do a man's
heirs possess when he leaves this world? They inherit the possessions
of the deceased father or benefactor. We say that God is the God of
the universe, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Sustainer of all
things visible and invisible. And are we to be joint heirs with Him?
So the Bible states. Well may the Lord say in one of the revelations
given through the Prophet Joseph Smith, “He that hath eternal life is
rich.” Jesus said to the Samaritan woman when asking her to give him a
drink of water, “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that
saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldst have asked of him, and
he would have given thee living water.” “Whosoever drinketh of the
water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I
shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into
everlasting life.” Again, Jesus said to His disciples: “In my Father's
house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go
to prepare a place for you.” Where? In heaven, of which we have very
little knowledge, and about which we comprehend very little. “And if I
go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you
unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” What was there in
His Father's house? Many mansions. What! Mansions in heaven? Yes? What
else? He declares He was going to prepare a place for them—mansions,
that where he was there they might be also. It is very plain, if we
could only open our eyes and understand it as it is. There is a great
difference between this principle and the ideas that men entertain
regarding earthly things. The first is in accord with the eternal
duration and exaltation of man, and is in consonance with his highest
and most exalted aspirations; the other is momentary, transient,
fleeting and evanescent. Men are grasping and grabbing at the world,
and at the riches of the world. I might mention the names of prominent
men of this nation—no matter, I do not like to deal in
personalities—men who gather together their millions. By and by they
drop down into a little place just about two feet by six, and that is
all there is of it. And what of their riches? Anything pertaining to
the future? No. Such men are
foolish, if they could comprehend
it; but they cannot. They, however, think that we are big fools. There
was a prominent man whose name I have forgotten, but I remember some
lines that he wrote. When I am gone, he said, men will erect a
splendid monument to my memory, upon which they will write: “Here lies
the great!” If I could rise and speak, I would say, “False marble,
where? Nothing but poor and sordid dust lies here.” Has any man ever
taken anything out of the world? No. Naked they come into the world,
and naked they return; they leave all their wealth behind them. Then
if, as intelligent beings, made in the image of God, we disregard the
teachings of our heavenly Father, and are led by influences that are
wrong, improper, impure and incorrect, and suffer ourselves to make
shipwreck of our faith and our good consciences, shall we not be the
veriest fools when we stand before the Judge of all the earth? But if
we can succeed in securing eternal life and exaltations, thrones and
principalities, powers and dominions, which we sometimes talk about
and which are as true as anything can be—if we can succeed in doing
this, we shall be amply repaid for all the inconveniences that we may
have to put up with, and all the trouble that we may have to endure.

Now we will return to the old prayer again. “Our Father who art in
heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.” What kingdom? The
kingdom of God. What does that imply? Government, rule, authority,
dominion. “Thy kingdom come.” What, that God shall dictate affairs
upon the earth? Yes. That His word, His will, His law shall go forth?
Yes. One of the ancient Prophets in speaking of these things said,
“The law shall go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem.” You will find those things written in your Bible, and can
look for them at your leisure. Now if we are to expect a thing of this
kind to take place, when the knowledge of God shall cover the earth as
the waters cover the sea, and when the will of God is to be done on
earth as it is done in heaven, ought we not to try as citizens of the
kingdom of God to introduce it and be governed by and to be under its
influence? I think we ought. Are we then to yield ourselves to the
false traditions, ideas, notions and opinions of men? I think not. We
want to strive in all the relations of life, in our family relations,
in our individual relations, in our marital relations, and in our
associations with men, to conduct ourselves in that way that God would
have us do if He were here Himself to speak on that subject; and to
seek to place ourselves in conformity with His law, His word and His
will.

Now, people take a great deal of pains to try to interfere with us in
our marital relations. What have they got to give us in exchange
outside of these things? O you Gentiles, present us something superior
to that which God has revealed, and we will embrace it. But you cannot
do it. We are at the defiance of the world to bring forth any better,
purer or more exalting principles. What would they give us in return
for that of which they seek to despoil us? Would they introduce all
the institutions of a pseudo-Christianity, with its prostitution, the
houses of assignation, its social evil, its feticide and infanticide
and the political and social hypocrisy and depravity, and its
debauching, demoralizing,
and corrupting influence, and call
this a fair return for virtue, purity, honor, truth and integrity?
Would they induct us into some of the principles advocated by some of
their leading ministers of using the sword, the bayonet, and the
cannon to extirpate what they term heresy, set man against his
fellow man and deluge the nation in blood? What do they tell us? They
set themselves up as our exemplars, and among other things say, we
must marry as they do. And how is that? Let me ask some of you
venerable, whiteheaded men that were married in various places, what
kind of a covenant did you make? You were asked if you would take the
woman to be your lawful wedded wife, for how long? Until death did you
part. What a miserable thing. And this is what they have to offer. A
woman takes a man as long as he lives, and then when he dies all is
gone into oblivion; no eternal unity, no claim pertaining to heaven or
the future; no sons, no daughters, no wife, no husband. That is
nihilism, I think. This is the condition they would put you in today,
if you would listen to them. But we are told that we should remember
the rock from whence we are hewn, and the pit from whence we were dug.
God has shown us principles that are ten thousand times more exalting
and ennobling than anything they have to offer. No; you may continue
in such operations; that is your business. You may revel in the idea
of living with your wives in time, and then dropping into the grave
without hope of any further union. But let me have my wives and
children, and my associations in the eternal world. Let me have a
religion that will live in time, and exist whilst eternal ages roll
along. That is the kind of religion I want, and if you like the other,
all right, take it. But give me, if you please, the liberty to pursue
happiness in my own way; if not I shall try to take it. I want none of
those evanescent principles that vanish when time ceases. I profess to
be an immortal being, as we all are. A spark of Deity, struck from the
fire of His eternal blaze, dwells in us, a portion of that
intelligence that dwells with the Gods; which, if we will follow out
through the influence of the Holy Ghost, of which I have spoken, will
bring us back again into the presence of God; and with us our wives,
our children, and our associations. Godliness, indeed, as stated by
the Apostle Paul, “is profitable unto all things, having the promise
of the life that now is and of that which is to come,” and despite the
ideas, the opposition and the contumely of ignorant and unenlightened
men, we will rule and reign and triumph, not only in time but
throughout the countless ages of eternity. That is the kind of
religion that I want. I would not give a straw for the other; if other
people like it, all well and good. I do not want to interrupt them.
But they want to interrupt us; and they do it, many of them, though we
treat them never so kindly. They seem to have a perfect mania on these
points; they run wild about our private affairs.

Now, there are certain inalienable rights that some men in this nation
consider belong to all men, one of which is the right to live. The
government of the United States did not give men life; they received
it from another and higher source. God himself is the author of life
and existence, more so than we ourselves sometimes think. There is not
one of you could leave
this place today unless God permitted
it, and not only permitted it, but sustained you and empowered you to
do so. We live in Him, we move in Him, and from Him we have our being.

Do you believe that these men are sincere when they allege that we are
so very wicked and that they desire to improve our morals? It would be
something like their marriage—it ends in death, and sometimes even
before that. What has been the proceeding here? Who are the authors
and abettors of the iniquities that prevail in our midst? Wicked and
unscrupulous men, the professed advocates of reform and a hypocritical
civilization, such as ministers, politicians and others. Who are the
introducers and originators of our gambling hells, or bagnios, and of
the open and flagrant acts of debauchery and corruption that prevail
in our cities where Gentiles reside? Who are the protectors of
drunkenness and other vices? Our professed Christian reformers. These
are their institutions; and their emissaries have been trying to
introduce the murder of the innocents in the shape of feticide and
infanticide. Can we believe in the sincerity and truthfulness of such
hypocritical, corrupt and degraded men? They tell us it is contrary to
law for a man to be married as we are, especially if he has more wives
than one. They talk about polygamy; but that is not the thing which
they are aiming at. I will mention these things some other time.

There are one or two statements that I wish to make before I close.
Have they manifested a desire to rid us of lasciviousness? Where are
the bagnios? Who are they kept for? For our good neighbors who love
virtue so much. Again when thous-ands of men withdrew from the polls
that they might not be considered obstructionists, what did they crowd
upon us? You have heard a statement about Mayor Little and his son.
Talk about purity! Was there any purity about that! The young man was
obliged to object to his father, who was an honorable man,
registering, because he had what? Broken any law? I do not think he
had ever broken a polygamic law, but he had two wives some time ago
when there was no law against it. Some of these things we mean to
contest yet. We have not laid aside our franchise. If any think so
they make a great mistake. There is not one man or woman in twenty who
have refrained from exercising their franchise at the polls who, if
the law of the United States was carried out and constitutional
principles sustained, could be interfered with according to the most
rigid interpretation of the so-called polygamic laws, and we shall
contest these rights. We are not going to give up everything. In the
interests of peace some of us hold our franchise in abeyance at the
present time; but as I stated at Conference when I spoke of these
things—we mean to contend for our rights legally and constitutionally,
inch by inch to the last end, and to maintain the principle of human
rights in the interest of ourselves, in the interest of our children,
in the interest of the honorable men of this nation, and in the
interest of the freedom of man throughout the world. So do not think
we are giving up everything: we have not given up one solitary iota.
Yet we thought it better to withdraw until we had a fair opportunity
to contest all these things peaceably, and quietly, and to contend
for our rights legally and constitutionally as
American citizens
and as men. Can we think that men are very sincere who purse the
course that has been adopted toward us? And what on the back of the
refusal to let Brother Little register? It is purity they are after;
is it? Here comes along the keeper of a bagnio and its inmates? Can
they be registered? Yes! Because, according to a ruling, not a law,
but a perversion of law, an oath is prescribed to American citizens,
wherein, loathsome, damning vices are protected. And they can register
while the honorable and virtuous are rejected. And our good, Christian
folks try to crowd these things down our throats. Well, we can bide
our time.

I will refer to another affair that took place. Another man, when he
came to be registered, after looking at the oath said: “I don't think
I can take it, because I have got a wife and keep a mistress.” But he
was requested to read the oath. After having done so, he said: “I see
the crime is here in it being in the marriage relation, and though I
have a mistress as well as a wife, the mistress is not in the marriage
relation, and I can take it.” This man was said to be candid. Of course
he was, and people say that he was honorable to tell his feelings.
Yes, he was honorable, if it can be honorable for a man to pledge
himself before the altar to be true to his wife and to the covenants
he had made before God and witnesses—and then break those covenants;
if that is honor, he may be called an honorable man, but we do not
call it very honorable amongst us. This shows that lascivious
cohabitation can be tolerated and protected by men who would seek to
be our teachers and our reformers. Such men and women under the old
Mosaic law would have been stoned to death. I say, my soul, enter thou
not into their secrets, and, mine honor, be thou not with them united.

Furthermore, there is a little thing which I wish to refer to that has
lately come to my knowledge; I have a knowledge of a great many
things—for men come to me with all kinds of affairs. It is a
circumstance that is to be deplored. A married man considered here an
honorable man, an upright man, a man that has taken an active part in
some of the schools, who has given considerable to the building of
churches and it has been thought that he was really seeking to do good
amongst us—has lately sought to abduct an honorable young lady, or
tried to persuade her to leave her home clandestinely with him and go
to a distant land. How can we trust these people? These are facts; I
have the letters; I know what I am talking about, and yet these are
who are supposed to be Christian reformers, identified with churches,
schools, and other places of improvement, who do not shrink to
associate themselves with those infamies. A very low state of morality
exists among them, as we know. How is it with us? Do we have men that
sometimes do wrong? Yes. Do we sanction the wrong? Can an adulterer
have a place amongst us? I tell you, No, he cannot, and any Bishop who
would permit anything of that sort ought himself to be removed. We are
in favor of chastity, purity and virtue, not nominally but really, and
we should make a distinction between one thing and the other and
maintain virtue and correct principles in spite of the hypocrisy and
corruptions that exists, for it is among us and around us. And it is
for us to look after our wives, our sons and daughters, and preserve
our chastity, our honor and our virtue in all these matters. Let us
seek the blessing of God, and He
will help us and direct us. But
because some of these men do wrong, and act iniquitously, shall we
condemn the whole? By no means. There are thousands and hundreds of
thousands of honorable, upright men and women in this and other
nations, who outside of religion, would scorn to be associated with
such infamies. Treat all men aright; but be careful of that loose
system of morals that exists in the world; be careful how you
associate with such people or permit them in your habitations. Look
well to yourselves and to your families, to your sons and to your
daughters; and let us seek to do right and cultivate the principles of
truth and God will sustain us, and Zion will go onward, and our
enemies will be confounded, from time to time, and salvation will flow
to Israel if Israel will be true to himself, and we will try and carry
out the things that God has ordained, and accomplish the work that He
has given us to do. For if ever the will of God is done on earth as it
is done in heaven, it ought to commence in the land of Zion. May God
help us to do it in the name of Jesus. Amen.